Pens in Our Life
★Study Motivation
With a variety of shapes, colors, and functions, people use “it” to document their lives, to express feelings, and to take notes. The writer Edward Bulwer-Lytton once said, “The pen is mightier than the sword.” Yes, it is pen that the thoughts of human beings can be drafted; it is pen that the history can be written and passed on; it is pen, this incomparable invention, that we can record the beauty of this world and communicate with others conveniently.
Children start to learn how to hold writing utensils in kindergarten; as times pass by, they should be capable of utilizing pencils, pens, and highlighters to make the learning process more effective and interesting. Yet, the presence of pen in the modern learning environment shrinks. With the development of digital technology, students tend to do or are asked to submit their homework online rather than physically writing on notebooks. It is doubtless that “typing” homework, most of the time, is easier than “writing” the homework: The auto-correction software installed in the computer indeed boost the efficiency and accuracy of our spelling when we rush to complete the homework. Considering how human beings used to rely on the use of pens, and the revolution of technology, we become curious about the presence of pens in the current of history, and the manufacturing process of pens in this sunset industry.
Though it sounds so simple to make a pen: you only combine different small pieces, such as a section, a pivot, an ink charge, and a penpoint, into a pen template straw, this manufacturing process reveals a deliberate technique of implementing “pen twist” into a pen, which will have a huge impact on the function of the pen. This is what we got from the primary research about the manufacturing process of pen, which made us even more interested in the rest of processes or some secret formula of making a high-quality pen. After conducting team discussions and the advanced research on the industry, we found PEN.MECH, the only pen-manufacturing company in Taiwan nowaday. By visiting the company, we aim to dig out the reason why PEN. MECH can survive in the sunset industry; what are the challenges it is facing; and what will be the future-oriented strategies.
＊Many different type of pen, companion with our growth.
★Research Methods
We complete the research by analyzing interviews, email surveys, and relevant online resources. We ensure the coherence of the research through team discussions and teachers’ assistance.
★Research Purpose
By knowing the past, present, and future of PEN. MECH, we intend to examine the survivor of a local sunset industry and its adaptation and transformation responding to the society. Moreover, we aim to introduce PEN. MECH to the other researchers in the field via this first-hand report and analysis.